Instagram Ads

Why Instagram?

Instagram currently has more than 1000 million active users. This, however, is just one impressive stat: it’s also the second most used social network (behind Facebook) and the fastest growing network in recent years. Nowadays, advertising on Instagram is an absolute must for most companies.

Instagram stats:

• According to Statista.com, there are over 107,2 million Instagram users in the United States alone; a number only expected to grow.
• Over 40 billion pictures have been posted on Instagram…so far.
• About 59% of internet users 18-29 years old use Instagram and about 33% of internet users 30-49 years old use Instagram.
• Instagram has undoubtedly become the perfect place for discovering new content: articles, videos, pictures of friends, the daily lives of celebrities, brand posts, etc.
• Instagram’s platform allows us to carry out campaigns tailored to each stage of the conversion funnel.

With such numbers, it’s clear that Instagram Ads are a force to be reckoned with in order to reach your target market and to improve your business’s goals, sales and brand awareness.

What are Instagram Ads?

Instagram Ads are a way for companies to advertise themselves by way of pictures and visual content on Instagram.

Launching an Instagram Ads campaign requires you to have a Facebook advertising account (if you already use Facebook for promotional purposes, you can use the same login), or you can open “Instagram for Business” account. Instagram Ads are managed via Instagram Ads Manager or Facebook Power Editor.

While there are many reasons a business or individual may decide to advertise, Instagram advertising is often utilized to grow brand exposure, website traffic, generate new leads, and move current leads down the funnel (and hopefully towards converting).

Since Instagram is such a visual platform, text ads are not a thing here. Rather you need an image, set of images, or video (which can be accompanied by text) to reach your audience with Instagram ads.

The exciting part? Instagram advertising works! In March 2017, over 120 million Instagrammers visited a website, got directions, called, emailed, or direct messaged to learn about a business based on an Instagram ad. According to Instagram, 60% of people say they discover new products on the platform, and 75% of Instagrammers take action after being inspired by a post.

What Kind of Instagram Ads Are There?

Although Instagram Ads are promotions on social media, not all of them work the same way. Therefore, it’s important you have a solid understanding of the basic concepts before starting a campaign. Instagram Ads appear on the newsfeeds of users you have selected to be a part of your target audience. These posts will be clearly labeled as “Sponsored”. In order to decide if an ad will be shown or not, a selection criteria, based on bids and user relevance, is followed.

In addition to this, it’s important to be familiar with the different types of Instagram Ads which are at your disposal. Depending on your business’s goals, some ads may prove to be more helpful or relevant than others:

1. Ads with pictures: as the name suggests, these advertisements are ads which also include a photographical element. The visual aspect of Instagram is crucial and, thanks to the clean platform interface, any image can be converted into a much more attractive format.
2. Ads with videos: if you want to offer a full user experience, video-based Instagram Ads are a fantastic option. The rest of the parameters remain the same but, as the name suggests, instead of a picture, a video is shown to the target market.
3. Sequential Ads: if what you’re needing is to show your target audience a series of pictures or videos, this type of Instagram Ad is your best bet.

How to Make Instagram Ads Work For Your Business

Once you have fully grasped the way Instagram Ads work, it’s helpful to know how you can use them to your benefit, thus propelling your business forward. Now, we’ll explain some of the benefits in store for your company if you chose to use Instagram Ads:

• Online Sales and Signups: getting your target audience’s attention by way of an advantageous position on their newsfeeds is rather easy on Instagram – even more so if you launch campaigns with high quality pictures and video.
• Branding: due to the importance of the ‘visual’ element of Instagram Ads, advertising campaigns can be an enormous help to your company’s overall brand awareness within your target audience.
• Community growth: Instagram Ads can also help you grow your brand’s community. This means promoting a new line of direct communication which, in turn, could increase the frequency of sales as well as improve brand association within your target market.
• Intentional marketing actions: ads can also become a tool for furthering certain marketing strategies; you can use them as a means to introduce new products, offer a secondary service or even allow your clients to get a free product sample.
• Contests/Giveaways: Everyone likes a good contest. That being said, contests and giveaways are perfect for getting leads that, later, can be worked into an email marketing strategy. As an added bonus, contests and giveaways also helps to boost your brand awareness.

Conclusion

Instagram Ads can be a big investment, both in time and money, but it can be a good one. If you have the resources or access to resources where you can create good quality image or video ads, you’re already half way there. Of course budget and financial investment is also needed. However, if you’re tracking your conversions and leads from Instagram campaigns effectively, you can make 10x returns on the money you spend on Instagram ads.

Need help getting started with Instagram Ads for your business? Send us a message and see what we can do for you.